Assuming Petrino is fired, where does he end up and who replaces him?

BamaFossil · Apr 7, 2012

I know we have a Petrino thread but I'd like to focus on the upcoming coaching changes that take place if Petrino is fired.

As to where Petrino ends up... I say Tennessee! Petrino will spend his obligatory year of remorse, perhaps conducting a few media interviews during the 2012 season. In the meantime, Tennessee will show improvement in 2012... but Volunteer fans are fickle. They'll forget the dumpster fire Dooley inherited. They'll be starry-eyed at the prospect of getting Petrino into the fold. Ergo, when the 2012 season ends, it's out with Dooley and in with Petrino. And yes, Petrino will do well at Tennessee.

Arky has to find a coach NOW. Someone with experience. Someone who has run a national program. Someone who is available or can be make available. Arky will survey the field and select... Phil Fulmer!! Fulmer would jump at the chance to show he shouldn't have been fired at Tennessee and so gleefully dives into his new gig.

If this scenario unfolds, it's better for us if Arky figures out a way to keep Petrino. I don't want Petrino at Tennessee; nor do I want Fulmer gainfully employed... anywhere.

Fire away...

derek4tide · Apr 7, 2012

On Mike Price's staff and UT - El Paso.

jthomas666 · Apr 7, 2012

If they can Petrino--and winning record or no, they really should--he made the AD look foolish--they might just name an interim coach for the season. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if they've already contacted Gus Malzahn's agent. With the offensive talent ARK has, it would be very hard for Malzahn to turn them down.

kyallie · Apr 7, 2012

ESPN and Houston Nutt. :biggrin:

GrayTide · Apr 7, 2012

IF, and I do mean if Petrino is let go, IMO Arkansas will have to elevate a current assistant to interim HC. As for Petrino to Tennessee; I think that could very likely happen. There are several quality prospects available to Arkansas after this season. Paul Rhoades at Iowa State, Skip Holtz at USF, Charlie Strong at Louisville, possibly Dan Mullen or some NFL assistant. Don't think Fat Phil would even get an interview. I would rather not see BP in Knoxville.

twofbyc · Apr 7, 2012

IMO, I'm thinking the only progams smelly enough to even touch him when he gets canned would be the orange puke and the barn, but he ain't goin to the barn. If Dooley does better than expected, I don't think he leaves sloppy top - but i really don't think he's gonna do better than expected. As for who replaces him...I think somebody should start a pool....:wink:

UAinAthens · Apr 7, 2012

If/when they replace Petrino, I believe the top candidate will be Malzahn. They still love him in Ark. Would he go this year? not sure. Next year, probably.

I'm not worried about BP, whereever he would wind up, and right now, I think UT should run screaming from anyone that presents a shady reputation. After the Kiffin disaster, and the issues internally that Dooley has had, the last thing they should want is the fiasco around a guy with BP's history.

selmaborntidefan · Apr 7, 2012

I think he goes to Auburn. They wanted him SO BAD before. And Chizik won't be there very long. Let him lose twice more to us - esp
if we win national titles - and they'll toss him aside like a bad case of fleas.

graydogg85 · Apr 7, 2012

I don't think they'll fire him, although they probably should. I think they'll probably suspend him for a few games this fall.

However, if they do fire him it creates an interesting discussion. If he gets the axe, I think they'll follow the lead of schools like UNC and Ohio State, who temporarily promoted top assistants in 2011 hoping to land a big fish at the end of the season. Arkansas is a decent job and there are a number of qualified candidates who would be interested under normal circumstances. I think they'd want to stand pat and look for another offensive guru who has seen success at the mid-major level, so I could see them landing someone like Butch Jones at Cincinnati or Mario Cristobal at FIU. I wouldn't rule out James Franklin at Vandy, either.

As for Petrino ending up at Tennessee - or anywhere else - it's a loaded question. Between the motorcycle scandal and the departure situation with the Falcons, he has irreparably damaged any credibility and goodwill he might have built in terms of being a decent human being. The man is apparently a scumbag. However, he's also one of the better pure football coaches in the game, so I think it comes down to "how badly do you want to win?". I'll be shocked if 2012 isn't Derek Dooley's last season in Knoxville and the Vols need a home run hire, but Petrino might carry too much baggage. I do think that James Franklin could be a player in that potential search as well.

CapstoneTider · Apr 7, 2012

I knew Petrino had character issue's from some of the things I read about after his Louisville exit, a lot was buried and I read the crumbs. Also the overboard criticism from the Falcons players that acted like they all hated him. At least coach Saban had some players speak in his behalf, not ole Bobby.

Petrino's not going anywhere unless he committed a felony, major NCAA infraction or a seriously bad moral issue with a woman who plans in suing the university or something. If not, this will blow over. Arkansas is doing the right thing with the leave and it works in everyone's favor especially if he stays. With today's media you have to react in an intelligent manner, Bama was always guilty of complacency.

My hunch is that considering Petrino could turn their program around into a perinial top 10 team, that he will be given another chance to clean up his morality issues. He may be fined or something but he will know and will have accepted/approved the full scope of his punishment before it is announced and imposed. I can envision a press conference table with him seated among the other powers with a remorseful look on his face.

They want Petrino, he is not Mike Price, a coach we only hired due to guilt over damage the University was doing to Brodie Croyle's career who had made a huge sacrifice by coming to Alabama He was advertised as the best homegrown quarterback prospect since Richard Todd. Mal hire Price with John Croyle's blessing and was supposed to groom Croyle into the NFL and help steer us though probation.

Black Warrior · Apr 7, 2012

kyallie said:
ESPN and Houston Nutt. :biggrin:

I agree, I think he winds up at Ole Miss. They hired Nutt after some email or phone scandal didn't they?

TommyMac · Apr 7, 2012

It's a tall order to replace a slimy, two-faced, lying piece of poo like BP, but Fill-up Foolmer immediately springs to mind.

Sagamore Bill · Apr 7, 2012

It depends upon how high the estimation of Arkansas truly is. Like Ohio State, I think they should elevate a "safe" assistant. Wait a year and look who is interested. Malzhan still has some of the stench of "Camgate" around him and outside of Auburn, no one believes that the situation was remotely clean. Do you want that resurrected by the media with your next hiring?

TIDE-HSV · Apr 7, 2012

TommyMac said:
It's a tall order to replace a slimy, two-faced, lying piece of poo like BP, but Fill-up Foolmer immediately springs to mind.

Yep, he's about the only moral equivalent. A lot of these coaches have had mistresses on the side. Not many would have taken her on a bike ride in an area where they'd be instantly recognized...

DrollTide · Apr 7, 2012

If Arkansas keeps Petrino they will have forever relegated themselves to being second tier. You just can't keep a morally dubious person in charge of your football program and still get the best recruits and the best assistants. They need to bite the bullet and 'do their porridge' like Alabama did after Price.

After he is fired, he will have to go the Mike DuBose or Terry Bowden route, and end up at a nothing program or perhaps a high school, under careful supervision and with an attitude of atonement and redemption. There are plenty of candidates to replace him but this is a difficult time of year to perform emergency surgery on a major program.

Look, lots of guys cheat on their wives yet manage to keep their jobs. But when you are in receipt of millions of university dollars, you are held to a higher standard.

IH8Orange · Apr 7, 2012

DrollTide said:
If Arkansas keeps Petrino they will have forever relegated themselves to being second tier. You just can't keep a morally dubious person in charge of your football program and still get the best recruits and the best assistants. They need to bite the bullet and 'do their porridge' like Alabama did after Price.

After he is fired, he will have to go the Mike DuBose or Terry Bowden route, and end up at a nothing program or perhaps a high school, under careful supervision and with an attitude of atonement and redemption. There are plenty of candidates to replace him but this is a difficult time of year to perform emergency surgery on a major program.

Look, lots of guys cheat on their wives yet manage to keep their jobs. But when you are in receipt of millions of university dollars, you are held to a higher standard.

You really hit on the reason that he almost has to be fired in the beginning of your post. It's not because he's in receipt of millions of university dollars, it's because he's in receipt of the sons of a lot of families and I expect that many of these families do not want their sons to be coached by a man that has an extensive history of lying to save his own hide.

Some people continue to point to Saban's "I'm not going to Alabama" statement and call him a liar, but he has a plausible case to state that he did that to protect the integrity of his team and it is entirely possible that when he made the statement, he wasn't intending to go to Alabama. That would make it a syntactical error instead of an intentional lie. However, it's impossible to defend many of Petrino's lies. Most of them cannot be defended as attempts to protect his team and most of them were definitely intentional because he was typically hiding the facts of his actions from others in order to really only protect himself.

bamabryan · Apr 7, 2012

I don't think Arkansas will fire Petrino. I think the Arky fans know this is as good as it gets for them and as a result Petrino will not be fired. I think they will put him on probation and his paycheck will take a hit. That's about it.

JBama_in_PCOLA · Apr 7, 2012

He goes somewhere like San Diego State. No where near big time college football.

TIDE-HSV · Apr 7, 2012

bamabryan said:
I don't think Arkansas will fire Petrino. I think the Arky fans know this is as good as it gets for them and as a result Petrino will not be fired. I think they will put him on probation and his paycheck will take a hit. That's about it.

I hope you're right. His recruiting will be hobbled for years - and he wasn't all that hot at it to begin with...

GrayTide · Apr 7, 2012

bamabryan said:
I don't think Arkansas will fire Petrino. I think the Arky fans know this is as good as it gets for them and as a result Petrino will not be fired. I think they will put him on probation and his paycheck will take a hit. That's about it.

I'm with Bryan, his salary will take a hit and he may have to sit out a game or two(not the Alabama game) and probably a public censure. There is just too much money to be lost by firing him. Proof that good things happen to bad people.

Assuming Petrino is fired, where does he end up and who replaces him?

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